Digital Currency Group (DCG) is considering selling part or all of the crypto-focused CoinDesk to attract capital to spur its future growth. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kevin Worth, the firm’s CEO, said.
According to the executive, in recent months the DCG subsidiary has received “numerous signals of interest” from potential buyers.
The upper end of the bids stood at $200 million. In 2022 the outlet generated revenue of $50 million.
In 2016 Digital Currency Group (DCG) purchased the outlet for $500,000–$600,000.
CoinDesk has turned to investment bank Lazard for help structuring the deal.
The holding company, which also includes the asset manager Grayscale Investments, the lending platform Genesis Global Capital, mining company Foundry and the cryptocurrency exchange Luno, suspended dividend payments.
DCG needs liquidity amid problems at Genesis Global Capital. The latter owes $3 billion, according to media reports. This sum includes claims by Gemini exchange clients for $900 million.
The group is considering selling up to $500 million of assets from its venture investment portfolio. The latter includes 200 positions in projects such as Coinbase, Kraken, FTX and Blockchain.com.
Earlier in 2023, Digital Currency Group announced the closure of its subsidiary HQ Digital, which specialized in asset management. Genesis Trading cut 30% of its staff.
In an open letter, Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss urged DCG chief Barry Silbert to resign. The public dispute heightened concerns that Genesis would file for bankruptcy.
In November the platform did not rule out this scenario in an effort to attract financing. Such a move raised concerns about the solvency of the parent DCG and the future GBTC.
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